What Love Is Not

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body ^[a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

This passage comes from 1 Corinthians 13 … often referred to as “the love chapter.” It’s often quoted to amplify or emphasize what love is … how love behaves. Perhaps, so that we don’t get confused about what is NOT love.

The chapter ends with the encouragement to “abide in faith, hope and love,” but of these three attributes, do not doubt that the greatest of these is LOVE.

The presence or absence of LOVE is most always associated with “the heart.” When love is lost, unrequited or abused, our hearts are broken. Trust is broken. Very often, walls go up around the heart to protect from future harm. It is very hard to “abide in faith and hope” when love is absent.

Even in the midst or after effect of broken-heartedness or loss of love … we still LONG for it. Like we long for air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat. The Apostle Paul did not mince his words, and he was absolutely correct when he stressed the great, great importance of LOVE.

So here we are … as a society and as individuals … broken-hearted, feeling alone and polarized, afraid, un-trusting … standing in the need of love. As persons and as a nation, our hearts need mending. The “heart of America” needs mending. All the words, all the “doings” … all the “clamoring” is just noise because simply … we do not know how to love each other (our neighbors) as ourselves. Quite possibly, (more probably) we don’t even know how to love ourselves. And in our “peopleness” — a hard truth is that we don’t know how to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We can’t mend because we don’t know how to love unconditionally. We are a long way from godliness … and we have to admit that.

This is not a new thing to God, by any means. Look throughout all of history how “peopleness” caused great suffering, brokenness, torn up hearts. We are the epitome of frail faith, weak ideals and selfish intents.

Your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away,

Hosea 6:4

Francine Rivers’ book, “Redeeming Love” is an allegory based upon the book of Hosea. It’s is a VERY popular book and tugs at the heartstrings of readers because it illustrates or represents this incredible need for redemption, restoration and yes, REDEEMING LOVE. We know we are flawed (tho’ we don’t fully admit or grasp the implications), and while many have built up those walls or defenses to suppress the need for love, the TRUTH is, again … LOVE is a necessary nutrient to our health and well-being. It just is. It’s how and why we were/are created.

The book of Hosea, and Rivers’ “Redeeming Love” is the story of US, and those harlot tendencies, those fears, those manifestations that we all experience (and often of no fault of our own), that keep us from fully knowing what love is … and keep us from ever fully mending our broken-hearts.

The sixth chapter of Hosea calls for REPENTANCE.

Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

Hosea 6:1

Another very familiar passage from the Bible and pertinent directive, if not plea, toward this “mending” is found in 2 Chronicles:

If my people who are called my My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Sometimes, when I read this or hear this … I think the “my people” is interpreted as a “group” thing. I often hear and have often said, “America needs to repent and turn back to God.” That’s pretty much “finger-pointing” towards the elusive “them” or “they” … that are always the culprits. You hardly ever hear, and probably never openly say, “I need to repent and turn back to God.”

What if that verse in 2 Chronicles read more like, “If I who am called by God, will humble myself and pray and seek God’s face, and turn from my wicked ways, then God will hear from heaven, forgive my sin and heal my heart, my mind, my spirit, my strength … ME.”

This article is titled “What Love Is Not.” The “love chapter” clearly outlines this so that we don’t have to guess, and perhaps gives many of us a starting point to specifically address those things for which we need to acknowledge and repent.

LOVE IS NOT … envious, arrogant, rude, selfish, provoked, evil, spiteful. LOVE does not fail.

Paul straightforwardly tells us that it takes a mature person … and an aware person to fully grasp and understand LOVE. And with this maturity, we will be better able to love ourselves and each other, as God intends.